Lawsuit: Jail’s inaction led to infection with parasite eggs

March 8, 2018

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — An ex-inmate is suing the Tulsa Sheriff’s Office claiming negligence and cruel and unusual punishment after he says lack of medical care led to a massive staph infection that was full of “eggs from parasites.”

Former inmate Zachary Plunkett filed the lawsuit Tuesday against the agency and its former medical provider. It seeks more than $75,000.

Plunkett claims jail staff for several days ignored the seriousness of an injury he had developed on his buttocks before he was jailed in 2016.

The Tulsa World reports the 32-year-old Tulsa man said jail staff gave him only ibuprofen and codeine while his untreated wound developed into a staph infection and abscess. The lawsuit says Plunkett suffered severe sepsis because of the infection.

A sheriff’s office spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday.